Cellulase has heretofore been used as a cellulose-decomposing enzyme in various fields, for example, in food industries, feedstuff industries and pharmaceutical industries, and recently, its use for treatment of excrement and kitchen refuse has attracted great attention in the art.
Hemicellulase is known as an enzyme decomposing hemicellulose such as xylan which is one component of straw, glucomannan which is one component of konjak and galactan which is richly contained in sea algae. Hemicellulase acts on husks of grains to decompose them and make them edible. Further, hemicellulase is used in combination with pectinase to clarify juices of citrus fruits, and when it is added to flour, it decomposes pentosan to improve the texture of bread. Moreover, when it is incorporated into roast coffee beans, the effect of extraction of the coffee extract can be heightened. Still, in addition, hemicellulase can decompose even hemicellulosic materials contained in refuse, waste water, raw sewage or the like, which cannot be decomposed by cellulase. Accordingly, uses of hemicellulase utilizing these activities have recently been developed.